Texas Republican outraged over local paper calling him out on his bullshit

Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (left) and Gov. Rick Perry, shown in Austin on April 13, are among the politicians whose statements have been fact-checked by PolitiFact Texas. [source: NPR]

This story is almost two months old, but it’s so good and funny that I just had to blog it:

Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst woke up the other day to find the newspaper had declared on the front page that he was dead wrong.

To be precise, the Austin American-Statesman said Dewhurst had made statements about kidnapping in Phoenix that were FALSE. It wrote it just like that, in capital letters, accompanied by a needle pinned to empty in what the newspaper calls "The Truth-O-Meter."

He's gotten more favorable judgments, too, but Dewhurst, a Republican running for re-election this year, was not amused. "This is regrettably a new low for the Austin American-Statesman and for this particular group," Dewhurst told NPR. "It shouldn't be in the newspaper. It should be on the editorial page. I mean, for heaven's sake."

Uh-oh! Sounds like somebody is angry that some journalists actually did their jobs and called him out on his bullshit. Poor Dewhurst; why can’t the dang media give him and his lies a break?

Stories like this only increase my appreciation for media watchdogs like PolitiFact, Media Matters, and others. All too often, in the face of complacent journalists and the apathetic media, they are the only ones willing to do some actual research and let people know when politicians are spewing crap left and right.

(via The Agitator)

Tags: David Dewhurst • PolitiFact • media watchdogs